Headwaters Pale Ale | Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

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I orginally had this APA from a growler from the brewery and it was fresh and good.
The bottle isn't bad either. Golden honey in color clear about a fingers worth of fluffy white head and nicly carbonated.
A well balanced aroma with hops having a citrus and floral bouquet and the malts having a caramel aroma.
taste is pretty balance with the flavors playing off each other. Hops are nice and fresh with floral notes and malts are sweet maybe pale.
A clean balanced beer with nice bitterness and a dry aftertaste.
Good to the last drop.

Appearance: Bright amber with nice off-white head and some lacing rings.

Smell: Mostly citrus (orange and grapefruit), with some spiciness, pine and a hint of metal. Light dried malts underneath.

Taste: Mix of dry hops and dry malts. Grapefruit, spice, herbs, pine, caramel and biscuit all play a role, and are so heavily integrated that it is hard for anything to stand out - this is both a strength and a weakness. Herbal and slightly bitter & metallic on the finish.

Drinkability: Very drinkable and refreshing APA - not surprisingly coming from the always solid (and often great) Victory. However, I have to admit that when a 15 year old respected craft brewery releases their first APA, I expect a little more. Maybe it is just a wee bit too herbal for me.

A: Poured a mildly cloudy orange-amber color, with a nice 1/2 finger or so head that died down into a diluted Alka-Seltzer-esque foam formation.

S: Strong, fresh hop profile, piney, and almost reminiscent of some of the wet-hopped harvest ales that I've had in the past. However, it also had Victory's "sour-dough with pepper" staple.

T: Sparkly, citrusy, and bready all at the same time. I did noticed the fresh, filtered water quality that the brewery taughted on the marketing-speak. The finish was bitter without being too dry.

M: Substantial, stuck-on-glass lacing, with a little bit of hoppy, bitter linger on the palate. The carbonation was fine.

O: Victory really packed a lot of flavor into such a low ABV beer. If I were to taste this one sight unseen, I would have tagged it as an IPA. Really good stuff... and I will be drinking more of it in the near future.

On tap at a beer festival poured into a sampler glass. From notes: Pours a deep golden with a small creamy white head. Aroma is balanced citric and piney hops with a very sweet honey and biscuity and caramel malt backbone. Flavor starts with the same sweet caramel and bready notes, picking up some light pine and citric hop notes before a smooth clean lightly bitter finish. Medium body and a sharp carbonation. A good pale ale, balanced and fresh, smooth and quaffable.

Headwaters pours a nice coppery color, with rich suds and nice lace. Next, a lovely bouquet of hops hits the nose...fresh pine, grass, and citrus. Perfect. The flavor? A little bitterness, but with a smooth, clean finish, this is a well-done pale ale with character and distinction. A favorite, and an easy-to-drink treat.